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I had my exam for 6th kyu this morning. You can see the whole thing on video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZR4eKhpRXE Commentary and feedback are invited, of course. (This is the same video I posted on Facebook, in case you've already seen it there.)

At our dojo (www.aikidosd.com) we start as unranked. The first test is for 6th kyu.

What I've been telling my non-Aikidoka friends is that this test is a little like graduating from kindergarten. I had to show that I basically know my colors and can tie my own shoes. Simple stuff, but hard for a beginner to master.

Most of the feedback I got was very positive. There were a few hiccups:
- I was mentally off-kilter from having just run back from the restroom (there had been a line). Everyone was already seated on the mat, and my exam was first. So it was run back, sit down, get up, go!
- I was winded from rushing, and it took a few minutes to recover from that at the start.
- I got dizzy/spaced from rolling, so blew my first hanmi (for the shomen-uchi tenkan), and then almost fell over. (D'oh!)
- I was not expecting to have to do shikko (knee walking), so I had no idea why Sensei was asking me if my knees were injured. I think that was my only real deer-in-the-headlights, "duh" moment. I had never tried it on the mat (only once at home), but got through it OK.
- Sensei pointed out afterward that my kokyu-dosa (suwariwaza) could be bigger, with better extension.
Overall I'm very happy. Naturally I wanted to nail every last detail, but I did OK, and didn't embarrass my teachers. I'll take it.

I had a great time preparing for the exam, and was lucky to work with a very capable mentor. I have never felt so much on the receiving end of the "it takes a village" (to raise a child) concept. In addition to learning from Dave Goldberg Sensei and the other instructors, I have learned from nearly everyone in my dojo, and from others as well. Maybe I can start helping others along now and then (on simple stuff, for the moment).

Now that I have been through the testing process once, I'll be paying attention in a slightly different way in class now (and likely taking notes after classes). And I'll certainly be paying more attention to the names of each technique.

Having achieved this little first step, one of my next goals (in addition to working toward 5th kyu, and getting in better physical shape, of course) is to begin to explore applying what I'm learning in Aikido to my riding and other work with my horse. I'll be posting those adventures here, too.

Thanks Andre. You're right, that was horrible. It wasn't even an attempt, really, I was just trying to get from point A to point B. We've never even worked on it in class, and my mentor and I thought it wasn't required on the exam. I apologized to Sensei for my deer-in-the-headlights look, about that. He assured me it's not the first time he's seen that look. LOL

Sensei asked you to knee walk at the end because just before kokyu dosa, when you and your partner got closer together, you did a rather miserable knee walk. Have a look!
Otherwise, a very fine test, congratulations. I am still amazed you people do jiyuwaza on 6th kyu.

Thanks, Darryl. :-) A tip: Do a full-speed dress rehearsal of the whole thing before your test. We did one, except I think we paused after the rolls to talk about where we'd be standing, or something. So I wasn't so dizzy during practice, and that caught me during the real exam. Like they say in the military "Train like you fight, and fight like you train." Make practice as real as you can. And relax, smile, breathe, and have fun.

Thanks, y'all.
I'm really glad Michael (my husband) videoed the whole test. It's great feedback to see some places I can work on improving. I hate seeing the mistakes, but it gives me something to strive for at 5th kyu (in addition to knowing a whole lot more techniques, of course).